The NEBOSH International General Certificate is assessed through two units, IG1 and IG2, and understanding exactly how each is examined, before you start studying, makes the difference between a stressful last-minute cram and a structured, confident run-up to the exam.
Unit IG1, Management of Health and Safety
IG1 covers why health and safety matters, how management systems are structured, risk management principles, leadership and worker participation, monitoring performance, and incident investigation. It is assessed by a written examination set and marked directly by NEBOSH, so the standard is identical no matter where in the world you sit it.
The exam rewards structured answers over long ones. NEBOSH examiners are marking against a specific set of expected points for each question, so a short, well-organised answer that hits those points scores higher than a long answer that wanders around the topic.
Unit IG2, Practical Risk Assessment
IG2 is different in kind, not just content: instead of a written exam, you carry out a real workplace inspection, identify hazards, evaluate the risks, and write up a formal risk assessment report with proportionate control measures. This is where the course stops being theoretical, you are producing a document a real employer could use.
The most common way learners lose marks on IG2 is proposing controls that are technically correct but not proportionate to the actual risk level, for example recommending an expensive engineering control for a low-likelihood, low-severity hazard where a simple procedural control would do. Matching the control to the risk level, not just naming a plausible-sounding control, is what separates a strong report from an average one.
A realistic study plan
- Work through IG1 content module by module, and after each module write a practice answer to a past-style question rather than only reading notes.
- Start thinking about IG2 early, even while you are still studying IG1, the risk-assessment skill takes practice to apply confidently.
- Use structured mock assessments before the real exam, ideally marked against the same criteria NEBOSH examiners use.
- In the final revision stretch, prioritise practising full answers under timed conditions over re-reading notes passively.
On exam day
Read the command word in each question carefully, "identify," "describe," "outline" and "explain" all expect a different depth of answer, and NEBOSH marking schemes are built around that distinction. Spend a minute planning a structure for longer questions before writing, and leave time at the end to check you have actually answered what was asked rather than what you expected to be asked.
The IGC is a demanding qualification, but it is a fair one: everything it tests is covered directly in the syllabus, and structured revision with proper mock assessments closes almost all of the gap between "know the material" and "pass the exam."
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